components

Hiding Edges: Part 2 - Selection Tools Extension

In Part 1 of this series, I showed a view of a model that had an overload of edges on display, distracting from an otherwise compelling view.   In Part 1 I showed how to get rid of obvious edges, like those along the curved walls, using the Eraser tool plus the Shift (or Ctrl / […]

Outliner Nesting 01

Good SketchUp modelers always make use of components when objects repeat in a model. For example, they use components for identical windows, drawer handles, columns, etc. Nesting components are components that are comprised of other components (or groups). This post will demonstrate what this means, why you should use nested components, and how the Outliner can make this […]

Quality Components: Part 1- SketchUp Collections

My “day job” project this week has been working on a chapter for an upcoming book on Modeling with SketchUp for Film and Stage Design. This chapter is about props – modeling or importing entourage objects such as furniture, knick-knacks, plants, and of course, people. If you rely only on the 3D Warehouse for these […]

Park Pergola Design 13

In Part 1 of this series, I showed how to begin the park pergola design, by modeling the curved horizontal beam that follows the pergola path.   In this post, I’ll show how to model the vertical supports for the beam.   Design One Support Draw the cross section of the support like this:      The extension I used for […]

Modeling A Sail Canopy

In the first two parts of this series, I showed how to create a simple sail canopy. In Part 1 I modeled the surface of the canopy, and in Part 2 I modeled the tower supports. In this post, I’ll show how to make another popular landscape architecture model in SketchUp: a fluid sail canopy. There […]

Scaling Objects SketchUp

In Part 1 of this series, I showed how to use the Tape Measure tool within groups or components, to resize only specific objects and not the entire model. This post also discusses using Tape Measure with groups and components. But the focus here is internal vs. imported (external) components. Read on to see what the difference is. Internal Components, […]

Optimizing SketchUp performance. RENDERINGS 01

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the optimal hardware for SketchUp performance, and in Part 2 I discussed some user interface options you can set to speed things up. In this post, I’ll discuss the modeling process that will allow you to keep performance at its peak, for any size model. Specifically: Using components and […]

Sketchup Layers Groups Components 01

Layers – they seem simple enough. Place a SketchUp object on a layer, turn off the layer, hide the object. Each object sits on only one layer. What could go wrong? Actually, quite a bit. When you model using groups and components (which all good modelers do), and start placing groups, components, or loose geometry onto different […]